Kate O’Mara

Kate O’Marawas born into a family of actors and has been on the stage since the age of four. She has appeared in such TV classics as The Avengers, The Saint and Howard’s Way. Best known for playing Alexis Carrington’s sister, Caress,in Dynasty, she lives in Somerset and is currently on our TV screens in the Channel Five soap, Family Affairs.

Of the TV classics that you have appeared been in, which did you enjoy the most?

A show that made my name in the 1970s called The Brothers. I played a really tough lady who ran an airfield, which was unheard of in those days. I’d done a lot of TV before and had played the glamorous brunette of the week. I played people’s mistresses, wives, Italian contessas and God knows what. But suddenly I was playing a woman who was a boss in a role that would normally be played by a man. A woman running an airfield in 1974 attracted a lot of attention. It was a huge break for me and it was immensely popular. It was on every Sunday evening and we had viewing figures of 18 to 20 million.

Has TV gone to the dogs?

I’m afraid it has.

So you’re not a fan of Celebrity Big Brother?

Lord no. I clicked on the television the other day, saw something and thought: ‘What on earth is this?’ I couldn’t work out what it was. Then some tall, glamorous bird comes on and I thought: ‘Here’s an actress. Is she going to be interviewed? No, she’s not going to be interviewed. What is she doing?’ Then I realised that I was watching Celebrity Big Brother.

You couldn’t see yourself rubbing shoulders with Brigitte Nielsen in the Big Brother house?

No, certainly not. I don’t mind making a film with her or doing anything else, but not that. I was asked to do I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here and I said: ‘No thank you.’

Is that the ultimate insult, to be asked to do a reality TV programme?

It’s just that one feels one is no longer an actress and one is something else. I don’t want to be contributing to the money that is being spent on these reality shows, which should be going into making TV drama and providing actors with work.

Your character in Family Affairs is very cold. Why do you always play bitchy roles?

I think ‘bitch’ is a very easy way to describe a woman who knows her own mind and is tough and uncompromising. I think it’s partly to do with my voice, which is very clipped and hard. I think I look hard too; I look like a tough cookie. I used to play a lot of foreign women in my youth, because I was prettier then. I would go for interviews and directors would look at these sultry, exotic looks, hear this clipped accent and think the two don’t go together. So they would give me a foreign accent.

You have got a bit of a naughty look though, especially your eyes.

Does it bother you that people associate you with bitchy women?

Not at all. I know what I’m like. They confuse me with the parts that I play, but that doesn’t matter. As long as I keep working and earning a living, that’s fine by me. Obviously I’m not like that at all. I’m quite the opposite. I’m a homebody and a vegetarian; I don’t drink and don’t smoke. I’ve never been a party girl. I don’t drive a fast car.

What do you do then?

I drink tea. That’s not supposed to be good for you.

You said recently that at some point a woman has to choose between her face and her bottom. Is that true?

I don’t have a problem with my weight. I’ve always been a size ten and sometimes a size eight. It’s just the way I am. Also, I don’t eat much. But recently I think I look a bit gaunt. It’s because I’ve got high cheekbones, but few teeth. My teeth are my worst feature. I’ve hardly got any of my own left. I’ve got implants in my upper jaw and hardly any in my lower jaw and that is the problem. It’s good to have high cheekbones because the bags that would be under my eyes go into the hollow above my cheeks. But the hollow below my cheekbones is a bit too much. At one point I thought: ‘I’m going to have to do a Marlon Brando and stuff some cotton wool in my mouth.’

A lot of people in Hollywood probably yank out their teeth to get prominent cheekbones.

They do. I had to have them out because they were as rotten as hell. I am fortunate in having this bone structure because I have a tremendously prominent temple. I like to think that’s it’s because I’m so intelligent. People say: ‘You haven’t got a line on your forehead.’ I do. It’s just the bones are holding them all out and the cheekbones are holding my face up.

No plastic surgery then?

Not for me, thank you. I have tried Botox and I don’t like it because it stops you being able to move your facial muscles which, as an actress, are essential. But I do have collagen injections.

For your lips?

You’ve got to be kidding. I wouldn’t dream of doing that. It’s for the line that goes between the nose and the jaw down the side of your mouth. That’s my only concession.

Do you have fond memories of working on Dynasty and Howard’s Way?

They were wonderful times. Those programmes were pure escapism. Dynasty was the pursuit of the American dream and Howard’s Way was the pursuit of the English dream. Americans have always aspired to be rich, young and beautiful. Here in Britain we want a lifestyle that’s just a bit better than working in an office or a factory. We’re not the same as the Americans. We don’t want a big house, a big pool and a big car.

A TV movie about Dynasty has been filmed in America. Who do you want to play you?

Someone extremely beautiful, like Catherine Zeta-Jones. But that’s aiming a bit high – she’s about 30 years younger than me.

I hear that you have a bad temper. How do you let rip – are you a shouter or do you throw things?

I’m a shouter. I’ve played Cleopatra and Lady Macbeth. I’ve played a lot of big, classical roles. I have a very big, powerful voice when I get going. From Somerset, you could hear me in Putney. I go for it. I shout the place down.

Do you swear as well?

Not to excess because, funnily enough, that diminishes it. It’s just noise.